Wearable Doctor Could Soon Be Reality

So, you think you’re getting sick? Do you have a wearable for that? Soon, you might. Wearables that detect when you’re ill are in the works.

In a new study, 60 participants wore devices to collect measurements of heart rate, activity level, skin temperature and more, giving researchers a baseline of normal readings. They found that deviations from the norm were tied to sickness and other factors that affect human health, according to The Huffington Post.

The senior study author and director at Stanford University, Dr. Michael Snyder, believes everyone should have a health dashboard similar to a car dashboard.

“Your car has 400 sensors, and dashboard lights go on when a problem occurs like the engine starts overheating or you are nearly running out of gas. In the future, you will have multiple sensors relaying information to your smartphone, which will become your health dashboard. Alerts will go off with elevated heart rate over your normal level and heart beat abnormalities will be detected – these will enable early detection of disease, perhaps even before you can detect it yourself,” Snyder told HuffPo via email.

Snyder worked with his team to collect about 2-billion measurements; each participant wore between one and seven activity monitors around the clock. And Snyder even took part.

During a long flight, he noticed changes in his heart rate and oxygen levels. Given information he recorded during previous trips, he knew it was normal for his oxygen level to drop during a flight and his heart rate to increase during take-off. However, in the past they had always returned to normal relatively quickly. That time, they didn’t.

Shortly after the flight, Snyder started to notice other signs of being sick, including a fever. He later learned that he had contracted Lyme disease.

Other participants with abnormal readings also eventually fell ill. While these clues seem to be right on, more research still needs to be done. And there are of course concerns to look out for, including users who do not interpret the data correctly.

“Many health enthusiasts will like this idea and will use the gadgets judiciously,” Satchidananda Panda of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies told HuffPo via email. “However, the danger lies in the vast majority of lay users who misinterpret the data.”

Dr. Karandeep Singh, a medical researcher at the University of Michigan who wasn’t involved in the study, said that these sensors may help doctors figure out the onset of a disease or sickness. Plus, they can help monitor its progression.

Snyder agrees, and believes these devices can change the way we live and work.

“I see a world where everyone is wearing these and your smartphone is like your car dashboard: lights go off when things are not quite right, like elevated heart rate or skin temperature,” Snyder told TIME.